Chinowa-Kuguri, passing through a hoop ceremony

Chinowa, large hoop made of kaya grass, is placed in front of the shrine sanctuary two times a year, early in summer and around end or beginning of the year (different depending on the shrine).
People can be purified and protected from illness and evil by passing through three times in such a way as to draw a number of 8.

This is an old shrine tradition with roots in a very old Japanese legend:

“Once upon a time the man called Susanoo-no-Mikoto asked one night’s shelter to the villagers during his trip. While the rich man named Tanshorai wouldn’t give even a night’s shelter, his elder brother named Somin Shorai warmly hosted Susanoo-no-Mikoto although he was in poverty. Susanoo-no-Mikoto was actually the Kami deity of the sea and storms. Later, as a reward Susanoo-no-Mikoto taught Somin Shorai to protect his family against an epidemic by wearing around the waist a ring made of kaya grass. Somin Shorai who observed it avoided misfortunes in his life. “